The side effects of time turning
by Bella
Summary: Time turning gives you an unique opportunity to see yourself from a completely new perspective.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All main characters belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I don't make any money out of this. Any infringement is not intended.

Author's note: This idea is most probably not original in this forum. However, I haven't come across it yet and any crushing similarities to other stories are purely accidentally. Secondly, English is not my native language and I'd like you to be kind and somewhat lenient with me on this matter, when you hopefully review this ficlet.

Summary: When in doubt …. turn to your friends!

Time frame: Harry Potter III, the moment Harry and Hermione sit in the Forbidden Forrest and wait for the dementors to show up during their time travel.

**The side effects of time turning**

They sat in companionable silence lost to their own thoughts, waiting for the events to unfold. A bit of warmth generated by Hermione's elbow penetrated his sleeve. She fiddled with a small twig she'd broken off of a branch next to her. He thought about if his godfather would prove to be a good cook – if not, he would gladly offer to return at least partially Sirius's generosity to take him in. Just as he was imagining a cosy little house in the countryside with many large windows to look out, maybe a bit crooked like The Burrow and definitely with a Quidditch pitch in the backyard, he felt Hermione getting restless. She threw her twig away only to break off another one a few heartbeats later. She stretched out her legs and pulled them close again, hugging her knees.

"Har…" she croaked and cleared her throat to begin anew.

"Harry?"

"Hmh?"

He would want to have a comfy bed, not a cod like at the Dursleys or just an old mattress like in the cupboard under the stairs. And Hedwig would get an extra large cage and he'd install in all rooms little bars and poles for her to rest on when she wanted to keep him company. And he would never have worry about owl droppings. He'd just clean up after his girl.

"Harry!"

"Yeah?"

He growled, a bit annoyed to be dragged away from his musings of a better life. Hermione's courage faltered.

"Nothing."

She sighed softly, but Harry completely ignored her and frowned as an unwelcome thought entered his mind. Would Sirius allow him to keep Hedwig out of her cage and around in the house? Or would he demand that she stayed out as Uncle Vernon wished to, if it wasn't for the neighbours? Yes, he would let Hedwig hang around freely and come and go as she pleased, Harry decided. His father had been a really cool guy. The Marauder's Map proved it. And therefore Sirius couldn't be a stuffed shirt either. Life would be just over all great for the first time since his parents died.

As Hermione turned her head to admonish him for not paying attention to her she saw him looking far beyond the horizon into the future with a happy smile gracing his face. She smiled inwardly. Probably already gone off on adventures with Sirius, she deduced correctly. She couldn't begrudge him his daydreaming at this nightly hour. Her friend had experienced so little true happiness in his life. Still, him gallivanting around the world didn't help her with her little predicament. She needed him focussed. On her.

Ever since she had seen herself from behind a few hours ago, she couldn't shake loose this video repeating itself in front of her eyes and driving her slowly out of her mind. She felt disgusted with herself. Hadn't she sworn to herself that she would never turn into one of these 'things' for lack of a better word that gave the term 'girl' a bad name? Her dormitory sisters Lavender and Parvati came to mind. Always giggling their heads off over the silliest things, reading the Teenage Witch Weekly, spending hours in front of their mirrors and their closets, worrying endlessly about their weight, their looks, their wardrobe and whether the flavour of the week might fancy them as well as they did them. She felt like gagging. And yet, here she sat in the Forbidden Forest long after curfew, biding her time until Harry and she could change history and instead of devising clever escape plans, all she could think about was if her butt was really as fat as it had looked!! To verify or hopefully falsify this, she needed a second opinion – Harry's. He was the only one she could trust with this.

She was determined. She needed to know. This was vitally important!

"Harry?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think my butt is fat?"

"Huh?"

Harry looked as if she had just declared to drop out of Hogwarts to pursue a career as a waitress at a Muggle junk food restaurant.

"I just…Never mind."

Never, never ever in her life she had felt as humiliated and embarrassed as right now. WHAT had she been thinking?! That was it. She hadn't been thinking at all! That was what you got, when you decide in one weak moment of low self-esteem to become a 'thing'. It served her so right that Harry thought she'd gone mental. What on heaven's Earth had made her think that Harry, whose thoughts gyrated around the planet Quidditch at the best of times, would be of any help? He was by far too immature to discuss something as important as this adequately with his girl friend. She doubted that he had even the faintest idea yet what it really meant that there were girls and by extension women in this world. She accepted that girls matured earlier than boys and most of the times it was okay for her. It gave her the advantage over them she needed to keep up with them. But right now she really wished that Harry was a bit older, a bit more mature.

"Well…okay, if you're sure…." replied Harry confused. That was surely one of these moments Fred and George had talked about. One of these moments you had NOT the faintest idea, what She was talking about, yet you had to give the impression, that you'd understand Her completely. The twins advised Ron and Harry to simply agree with the girls in those situations with no further questions asked. Most of the times it was just something as trivial as whether they should take an umbrella with them, because it might rain later or if they should get a new hairstyle.

Still, he felt a bit uncomfortable and cold. In fact, it WAS getting colder by the second. Realising what this meant he jumped up at the same time as Hermione, who had caught on immediately. All thoughts of houses and butts were left to be forgotten as more pressing matters demanded their full attention. They ran towards the small lake where the unconscious Harry and Sirius had been found earlier in time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

After a few days the excitement evolving around the events of Sirius' and Buckbeaks escape had quieted down.

Ron had been released from Madam Pomfrey's care. Harry had been seen flying around for hours on his new Firebolt. And then there were times, when he wasn't seen for hours at all. But that escaped the attention of most and those who bothered to care knew better and looked the other way. Hermione on the other hand was always seen with a thoughtful expression these days. One evening Parvati and Lavender had her even caught in front of a mirror, clad in her underwear, looking critically and with a displeased frown from every possible angle at her body, even twisting herself to catch a look at her lower back. And from there on the rumours had started to fly among the female student body - the mighty bookworm Hermione Granger had finally succumbed to her destiny. She had become a teenage girl!

Ron remained oblivious to the change in his girl friend due to the coming holidays and the minor detail of pending exams. However, Harry hadn't forgotten the strange way his friend had acted in the Forbidden Forrest and observed her carefully for further signs of strangeness.

After days of meticulously collecting and assessing incriminating evidence, Harry came to the conclusion that Hermione indeed had stopped eating. She had always been a light eater, but now she barely touched food anymore and if she did it was only bits of fruit, vegetables and on special days a glass of milk or yoghurt with half a slice of wholemeal bread.

With a stroke of genius, helped along by a third party, Harry managed to connect the before apparently unconnected events and figured out, what was going on with his female best friend. And with a friendly push from said third party, he decided to do something about this.

The very next morning Hermione felt Harry's frown on her as she peeled an apple. It began to irritate her. Her temper was short anyway these days with her being constantly slightly hungry.

"What?" she snapped finally.

"Why don't you eat anymore?" he whispered.

"What? Do you need new glasses? This is called an apple and usually people eat them, like me for instance." She took a bite out.

"That's not what I mean. And you know it."

"Then explain it to me, because I don't know what you mean."

Harry pushed his hand through his hair. He felt the tension coming off Hermione in heavy waves and his instincts told him to treat carefully.

"Look, Hermione, we've been friends for almost three years now. And friends look out for each other. And I couldn't help to observe that you haven't eaten properly for two weeks now. I just think…I'm a bit worried about you, you know."

Seeing Hermione getting distinctively pink in the face, he felt himself flush as well. She felt the grounds opened up to her. Of all the times, when Harry chose to be ignorant of her worries and needs, why couldn't this be one of these times? Harry scraped every tiny bit of Griffindor courage together and ploughed ahead.

"You know, if it's because of _you know_ back in the forest…."

"Please Harry, can't we just forget about… back then?"

"No, we can't."

"This is of NO concern to you."

"It IS. I can't sit back and watch you starving yourself…" Their whispers turned gradually louder as their tempers kept building up.

"…especially, if it's because of a totally silly misconception."

"It's not. I've taken a look at myself. I do have a _you know what_."

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I have."

"Don't!"

"Do!"

They stood up, glaring at each other.

"DON'T."

"DO!"

Harry gritted his teeth in frustration. Why was she just now in one of her difficult moods?

"Look, you caught me totally off guard with your question back then and before I could even begin to answer you everything else happened and then there was no time to talk to you."

"Harry…"

"Hermione, your butt is NOT fat. In fact, it's one of the hottest in whole Hogwarts!"

"You're just saying that because you're my friend." Her voice was a curious mixture between a sob and an angry hiss. He gave a short incredulous laugh.

"Mione, I AM your friend. But I'm also a regular teenage boy and if I tell you your butt is hot then it is!"

He glanced sideways to Ron, who was watching this open-mouthed and with an amused twinkling in his eyes.

"Ron, don't just sit there. Say something!" Harry snapped at him.

"You're making a spectacle out of yourself, mate."

Harry glared at his best friend and opened his mouth for an angry retort, when he noticed the quietness in the Great Hall. Flushing crimson he realised along with a beet red Hermione that everyone looked at them. First snickers and catcalls were heard.

Knowing he had brought this upon himself, Harry straightened his posture. If he were to go down, he'd better to go down in style.

"What is it?" he turned around and addressed his schoolmates. "You all think your butts are fat, too? Want me to have a look?"

Here and there laughter was heard. He turned to Hermione and made a tactical error by ordering her.

"And you, eat! Before I make you."

Hermione had already conceded defeat in guilty but nonetheless thrilled pleasure that Harry found at least her backside attractive, which also meant that he HAD looked recently. But now her hackles were raised again. She didn't let herself be ordered around. Especially not on such matters and certainly not with the whole school watching.

"Oh, will you? THAT I'd like to see!"

She stubbornly crossed her arms in front of her and looked him challenging in the eyes.

Conscious of all eyes resting once again on him, Harry walked in silence past his housemates, turned at the head of the long table near the teacher's and walked the row back down until he reached Hermione.

"Move", he ordered Neville, who instantly backed to the right, which caused an unfortunate seven-year to fall of the bank at the other long end, when the ripple had reached him eventually. But nobody paid any attention to him as he dusted himself off in indignation. He pushed another seven year aside on the opposite row and the ripple moved back up the table.

Harry sat down on Neville's former spot, grapped Hermione's plate and filled it up with eggs, bacon and hash browns, before he handed an orange to Ron over the table.

"Peel it and make slices. But don't squash them."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. Harry tried to swallow surreptitiously. 'Go down in style' he reminded himself. She gave a little girly squeak, when she felt herself suddenly pulled down into Harry's lap. He took a spoon and filled it up with scrambled eggs.

"Now, open up."

Hermione pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"You don't want to?" Harry asked sternly.

She shook her head again... and shrieked. Harry had tickled her at her side.

"Here comes the airplane…."

And the spoon was put lightning fast into her still open mouth. The hall erupted in laughter again. This was by far the best hall entertainment since Allan Rhys from Ravenclaw had slipped on spilled pumpkin juice and knocked unintentionally his girlfriend Kimberly Watson from Slytherin face down into a bowl of jelly.

"Now, here's one for mommy…that's a good girl. This one's for daddy…and one for Harry…want something to drink?…Here you go, this piece of bacon is for Ron…no? You don't want it? Do you want Ron to think you don't like him?"

"No, I just don't want to take any food from him. You know, how he gets, Harry, " she giggled.

Though there was usually this certain tension in the air when two members of the opposite sexes and of a certain age partook in the enjoyable past time of feeding one another, a natural innocence was preserved in the case of Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Both were still too young to fully live out a scene as such with all its layers, but old enough to feel an unexpected pleasure in taking care and being taken care of.

"Hey, Potty, training for baby care?" came a malicious shout from the Slithering table.

"Why, Malfoy, need some?" shot Harry back while feeding Hermione slices of orange. And once again the laughter was on his side. Even Professor McGonagall was later on rumoured to have sported a tiny smile.

"Harry, stop…. I'm positively stuffed."

"Are you sure? Well…" Harry took a napkin and dabbed it delicately at Hermione's mouth to clean her up.

"Show me your hands…okay. You may be excused from the table." He lifted her off his lap. "Straight out your robes…. Off you go. Be good for daddy and play nicely with the other children in school." Harry winked and smiled.

Hermione bent down to grab her bag, but hugged Harry first.

"Bye, daddy."

"Oh, and princess, if you see that Potter boy along with this Weasley chap…"

"Yeeees?"

"…. stay clear off them. They have way too much bad influence on you. I know you have played exploding snap with them yesterday evening for a full hour instead of preparing yourself for the exams next week."

"Too late, daddy. I'm already corrupted by them."

And with a big smile she skipped happily like a little girl down the long row of fellow housemates towards the big doors to make her exit from the stage.

"You still eat this?" broke Ron the silence.

And suddenly as if a spell had been lifted, the clatter of plates, cutlery and goblets, laughter and talking filled again the Great Hall.

Later, much later that same day Harry went to the owlery to send Hedwig away with a letter and a bit of roast beef and a nice treacle tart for Sirius. He smiled to himself as he tied the small parcel to her foot.

"You know, Hedwig, it's really great to have a godfather. And it's even better to have one who knows about girl stuff."

The snowy owl hooted in agreement and nipped affectionately the hand of her human. Dutifully she would deliver the report of a mischief managed.

THE END


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